Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2024 i Take a Break Fiction Feast

Time for a toast. Here’s to us.’ Xanthe clinked her glass against her mother’s. ‘Happy Valentine’s Day,’ they said in unison. It wasn’t the first time they’d spent Valentine’s Day together, the same thing had happened last year and the year before. It had been hard when her father upped and left, ending 36 years of marriage overnight. That was two years ago. Her mother was still hurting, though she never let on. Xanthe pulled four DVDs from her bag and spread them out on the table. ‘What film do you fancy watching?’ ‘Great choices — Pretty Woman, Groundhog Day, Romancing the Stone. Let’s go for 10 Things I Hate about You.’ Emma smiled. ‘That reminds me, I wonder what your father’s doing right now — probably dining at some…

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Lindy walked hesitantly into the solicitor’s office. ‘Hello, I’m Lindy Cramer. I received a letter asking me to come in. It’s about Mike Cramer’s will?’ She nearly hadn’t come. She and Mike had divorced 20 years ago and there was nothing she’d ever want from him. However, curiosity had won out in the end, so here she was. The receptionist smiled. ‘Yes, Mrs Cramer, we were expecting you.’ She threw open an office door. ‘If you’d like to wait in here with the others, I’ll let Mr Jones know you’re here.’ ‘The others?’ But the receptionist had gone. Two women were already seated in the office and both turned to look as Lindy entered. She recognised one of them as Kyrsta, Mike’s second wife. The other woman was in her…

Heidi and I had been friends for years. Well, perhaps not friends — not exactly. We met on our first day at high school, but the truth was that I was jealous of her then and I’d been jealous of her ever since. We hung out together, and she was one of the nicest people you could meet, but Heidi had always had every advantage when I hadn’t, and for that I could never forgive her. I still vividly remember sitting beside her in our form room all those years ago. Heidi had a spanking new pink leather satchel, and a huge pencil case crammed with top-brand markers, sharpened pencils, an expensive rollerball pen and scented rubbers. Heidi had had every advantage, and for that I could never forgive her…

I manage an estate agent’s staffed mainly by young women. It’s February 12th, and even before we open for business, the air is heavy with their hopes and plans for Valentine’s Day. Who might get the most cards/flowers/gifts? Would there be any proposals? I hoped nobody would ask me about my plans, but my assistant had other ideas. ‘What are you doing for Valentine’s day?’ Josie asked. ‘Not a lot. My girlfriend isn’t a fan, so we never really bother. But I’ll try to get away early so I can cook her something nice.’ Josie’s eyebrows shot up. ‘How long have you two been together?’ ‘Three years.’ ‘Three years,’ she repeated. ‘And you’ve never thought about proposing?’ ‘No. Carol’s been married before — she prefers things the way they are.’…

Max’s problem was gambling. Somehow an occasional flutter on the horses at the local betting shop had developed into a chronic online addiction. Night after night. he would sit in front of his computer playing virtual poker, getting a buzz when he won and — here was the strange thing — also getting a buzz when he lost. But maybe that was how it worked. Maybe the anticipation of trying to win back what you lost gave you the adrenaline rush you craved. The need to do it again! The thought brought a faint smile to Max’s lips. He concealed it by taking a sip of champagne, and as he did so, he allowed his eyes to sweep around the bar — the leather sofas, the oil paintings, the exquisitely…

I should have smelt a rat when Nathan announced he was treating me to a holiday — a cruise in the Mediterranean for me and a friend. ‘Three weeks of sunshine, all-you-can-eat buffets, cocktails and on-board entertainment,’ he promised. ‘Plus stops-off in places of interest. You’ll need some spending money for those, but leave that to me.’ Mug that I was, I threw my arms around him, kissed him and whooped. ‘You are the absolute best boyfriend in the world!’ I told him. ‘Steady on, Chloe — it’s just a little holiday.’ ‘But what about you? Don’t you want to come with me?’ I asked. ‘To be honest, I’m planning to get cracking on all those little jobs around the house that we’ve talked about,’ Nathan replied. ‘And I thought…

It was a usual breakfast in the Dawson house that Friday morning. Jamie had spilt his orange juice in Tricia’s new trainers, and neither he nor William would contemplate eating anything other than Smarties for breakfast. ‘You’re having cornflakes!’ Tricia told them both. ‘You said that was what you wanted when we went to the supermarket yesterday, so it’s either that or toast.’ ‘I don’t want breakfast!’ said Jamie, folding his arms. ‘Me don’t want fast either!’ said William, copying his older brother’s bad habits as he usually did. ‘You can’t go to school or nursery without eating your breakfast first,’ said Tricia, trying to keep her voice calm. ‘Don’t want to go to school!’ said Jamie. ‘You have to, darling,’ said Tricia, tipping the flakes into two bowls and…

The bell rang at my flat at 7am. It was a Saturday so, barely conscious, I shuffled my way to the door while tightening the belt of my fluffy dressing-gown. My brother waited in the corridor outside. Age 27 and a builder by trade, he stood dressed in grimy boots, jeans and a lumberjack shirt. ‘Hi,’ he beamed. ‘I’m off to a job, but I’ve got time for you to tell me.’ ‘Tell you what?’ ‘If I’m having a boy or a girl. I thought Jodie was joking when she said she wouldn’t tell me the baby’s sex after her scan, but it’s been a whole two weeks now. I know she told you and nobody else.’ When I didn’t respond, he pushed past and headed for the kitchen. Inside,…

A little reminder Come on, Mum,’ Polly puffed from downstairs. ‘I’m going to be late.’ ‘Down in a second,’ Lisa replied as cheerily as she could, all the while dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. The tears had come out of nowhere, but she wasn’t surprised. Her emotions had been all over the place, and her first Valentine’s Day without David was always going to be a hard one. ‘About time!’ Polly huffed when Lisa finally arrived at the bottom of the stairs. The sight of the nine-year-old scowling was enough to bring a semblance of a smile back on to Lisa’s face. Just as impatient as her father, she thought. The tears threatened to show up again as they sat waiting at a traffic light. David had never…

Anna came into the restaurant where I worked, so excited she could barely speak. ‘I’ve got a date tonight,’ she gasped. ‘Wait until you see him, Tania.’ She’d filled in forms for an online dating agency last week, but I wasn’t expecting such a quick result. ‘Don’t get your hopes up,’ I warned. ‘You never know what sort of blokes these agencies attract.’ ‘Look at this,’ she said, waving a photo in front of me. ‘Tell me he’s not the best thing you’ve ever seen.’ That’s when the first pang of jealousy struck. She was right. Jonathan was gorgeous. Just the sort of guy I’d been waiting to meet. Tall and athletic, he had clear blue eyes and brown wavy hair. I could see the tip of a tattoo peeping…

That was odd,’ Jill said as her husband walked into the living room with the tea tray in his hands. ‘What was?’ Paul asked. ‘That phone call,’ she replied, putting her mobile down on the arm of the sofa. ‘It was Daniel, and he asked if he could come and see us because he’s got something amazing to tell us.’ ‘So why was that odd?’ ‘Well, why couldn’t he tell me his news on the phone,’ Jill asked as she watched Paul putting the tray on the coffee table. ‘And why did he ask if he could come round? He usually just turns up.’ Paul shrugged as he sat on the sofa beside her. ‘I’ve no idea, love. Maybe his news is so amazing that you need to brace yourself…

Karen was chopping tomatoes when the first of her guests arrived. Was she crazy to organise a party at such short notice? She put the salsa and corn chips on the table on her way to the door. It was Fiona. She’d brought homemade pizza and a bottle of cabernet sauvignon. ‘I wasn’t doing anything this evening,’ Fiona said. ‘You’ve rescued me from self pity.’ Only yesterday at the office, Fiona had been wistfully reminiscing about this time last year when she and Ted had been an item. She looked like a different girl tonight in her black velvet skirt and happy smile. Right now she felt grateful to be single, surrounded by her friends ‘It’s exactly a year today since I was burgled,’ Karen said. ‘So that seemed like…